Photo shows Darrell Hicks and a friend at last week's Walk MS.
CULLMAN – Having a cup of coffee with Darrell Hicks is much like sitting down with your dad or grandpa, depending on your age. As he made his way to the booth for a recent interview, Hicks was stopped by a diner patron who was in Hicks’ classroom decades ago. The young man lives out of state while serving in the military and was in town visiting his kin. He thanked Hicks for the lessons he taught years ago while Hicks shook the man’s hand and thanked him for his service to our country. Thanks to his three decades-long career as an educator in the Cullman County School System and awareness of public issues, a conversation with Hicks leaves you feeling smarter, more patriotic and like you just made a lifelong friend.
Hicks will be on the ballot on April 12 for the Cullman County Commission Chairman runoff election, facing incumbent Kenneth Walker. Expecting a light turnout for the runoff, Hicks shared his thoughts on our duty to vote, as evidenced by a friend of his who recently passed.
“I went to the funeral home on Saturday night to honor a friend of mine. He was 92 and a WWII veteran. He won the Purple Heart in the war. Well, this man who was running the election where my friend has always voted said that, on March 1, my friend’s wife got him in the car and carried him to the polls where he voted. He was sick and still voted less than three weeks before he died.”
Hicks served as Cullman County Commissioner, Place 1, from 2010 until 2014, winning that election in a 73 percent landslide vote. As a proponent of the Duck River Reservoir and its more economical water solution than the county-proposed alternative at the time, Hicks was an integral part of the commission during the 2011 tornadoes and the cleanup and rebuilding efforts afterward. Additionally, when asked by the county engineer which county roads should be considered for the Alabama Transportation Rehabilitation and Improvement Program (ATRIP) during his time on the commission, Hicks responded, “Apply for every road that’s qualified for the program!” The federally funded program is administered by ALDOT and provides funding up to 80 percent for road improvement projects.
Applying for all of the qualified roads sounds like common sense. That’s the key to Hicks. He sees what needs to be done, does some research and makes a plan. Then he puts the plan into action and sees it through.
“I want the (Highway) 157 overpass to get done. I went with the mayor of Cullman and met with ALDOT when I was on the commission. We asked what the delay was on the bridges and they said the railroads required more insurance than the state is allowed to pay. We asked how much money, and he said $3,000. I told the mayor that the county had $1,500 if the city had $1,500. We sent that $3,000 check and nothing has been done on the work. But, I don’t know if there’s been a concerted effort to put pressure on ALDOT to complete the project. To me, the bridges are there and the utilities have already been moved. The county, the city and our legislative delegation need to be on the same page. What’s the response time at certain times of the day to the hospital now with the traffic?”
I think we need more money put into our farm-to-market roads and secondary roads. I’m in favor of this gasoline tax if they can divert a big portion of that to farm-to-market roads and not send it to ALDOT. The legislators tell me they’re for the tax, too, so maybe they’ll fight for it. We have the second most secondary roads in the state of Alabama, but we’re 15th in funding because the funding is based on population and not the miles of road. Morgan County gets about $8,000 a mile to maintain their roads and Cullman County gets only about $2,000 per mile. It’s kind of an unfair formula.”
Hicks sees a need for renovations in many of the county’s senior and community centers, especially in the smaller communities, to make them a source of local pride for the citizens.
“We’ve got a lot of old community centers out in the county that need repair. Instead of being an eyesore they need to be something the community is proud of. I feel more of an obligation to help these unincorporated areas that have community centers that don’t have a tax base to support these centers. Places like Simcoe, Brushy Pond, Walter and Crane Hill. The community needs something more than just a place for the seniors to meet. I helped build the Cold Springs community center while I was in office and they rent that place out for family reunions, wedding receptions and other events. The community needed that building space and that center really adds to the community.”
A native of Cullman and graduate of Holly Pond High School, Hicks and his wife raised their daughter in the community that he called home. Talk of his daughter and her accomplishments brings an instant smile to Hicks’ face. It’s the unmistakable pride of a father who is happy with his daughter’s accomplishments, even though they have taken her far from home to upstate New York where she lives with her husband and children.
A graduate of Holly Pond High School and Auburn University, his daughter works as a county extension livestock educator which follows along with Hicks’ career as an ag teacher in both the West Point and Holly Pond schools.
Even though they live far away, the grandkids come down to Hicks’ home place in Walter to stay for a few weeks each summer. And, the grandparents always attend the Junior Nationals where the grandchildren show cattle for a week at a time. Hicks and his wife will be visiting their 11-year-old grandson and 9-year-old granddaughter over the Easter weekend “in the middle of this campaign, but it’s family” and, for Hicks, family comes first.
In addition to roads and senior centers, Hicks wants to move forward and complete the public gun range in Bremen.
“Gun sales are at an all-time high. I have a farm so I can take my grandson down in the pasture and I can teach him gun safety and we can shoot, but how many people have a house on a lot and nowhere to shoot? Where are they going to shoot? There was a shooting range started down at Bremen, and after we went out of office, it’s just been sitting there. We got most of the work done. Sheds are up. Tables are up. Restrooms. Berms are built. A place for rifles. Sidewalks poured for handicap accessibility. The gravel is even there for the parking lot. They put up a sign that says ‘closed to the public’ since then and that’s it. The only thing that has been done is the sign put up telling people to keep out when all it needs is a septic tank.
“It just wasn’t the present administration’s idea so it’s sat there,” Hicks continued. “They’ve come up with several excuses saying it’s at the old county dump. But, where this thing is built there was never any garbage put there. The man that was there when the first dirt was pushed said it was just strip-mined land and they build houses on strip mines now. I want to see that finally finished.”
There’s little flash or insincere toothy grins in Hicks’ campaign. His platform and agenda are based on community leaders working together to get projects seen to completion.
“I’m looking forward to the election. I just think the county needs some new leadership to bring the county commission together. We need to come together and set some long-range goals and priorities and work together as a commission to get things done.”
